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Bolivian ram unknown sickness

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One of my female bolivian rams has an illness I cannot identify. I bought the female along with 7 other rams about 1.5 months ago and quarantined them. The ram seemed fine(active, begging for food, hanging out with others, nice round belly) until about a week and a half ago when she started becoming listless, lost appetite, grew thin and hung on the periphery of the group. I separated her and treated with antiparasitic medication(tetra parasite guard) for a week but symptoms have not improved. Eventually I decided to return her to the main tank because it wasn't getting better and she didn't like the solitary confinement of the qt. so far things still have not improved. I am at my wits end to what it could be, I had several theories but none seem viable.

- parasite infection. Again, I already have treated for parasites with no avail
- stress from aggression. The rams do occasionally chase and nip at each other, but it isn't serious and they still hang out together in a little corner. If any fish were stressed by aggression it could flee to the remaining 3/4 of the tank
- bacterial/fungal infection. Possible, but I doubt so too because my water is clean(amm/trite/trate all 0, pH 7.2) and things were fine for about a month before the illness

My only ideas currently are either a bacterial infection of sorts(would explain why anti parasites don't work, but unlikely due to clean water) or else a parasite that has gained immunity to common meds due to fish farms constantly immersing fish in medications. If anyone has any other input, either to other possible causes or treatment possibilities, I would really appreciate it.

I have experienced something that sounds very similar to your situation a few years back with my congo tetras. I treated with one anti-parasitic med (following the instructions to the letter) and nothing changed. After removing that med from the set-up I tried a second treatment with a different anti-parasitic med and it worked. That fish is still healthy and doing well today.

The theory is that not all anti-parasitic meds can treat all of the different types of parasites. That theory did seam to hold true for me, but there is still a chance that I just got lucky. It might be worth considering a treatment with a different med

If you take your time to do the research FIRST, you can successfully set-up and keep ANY type of aquarium with ease."Not using a quarantine tank is like playing Russian roulette. Nobody wins the game, some people just get to play longer than others." - Anthony CalfoFishless CycleCycling with FishMarine Aquarium Info [URL="http://saltwater.aquaticcommunity.com/"]

I don't remember the first one, but I will check when I get home tomorrow just in case I kept the bottle. I'll PM you if I find it.

The second med I used was prazi-pro. That stuff can be hard to find in stores in Western Canada for some strange reason. Depending on where you are in Alberta, if you have to order it on-line, J&L Aquatic should be able to ship it to you next day as they are located in the greater Vancouver area.

If you take your time to do the research FIRST, you can successfully set-up and keep ANY type of aquarium with ease."Not using a quarantine tank is like playing Russian roulette. Nobody wins the game, some people just get to play longer than others." - Anthony CalfoFishless CycleCycling with FishMarine Aquarium Info [URL="http://saltwater.aquaticcommunity.com/"]